Comar Systems R500Ni User manual

USER MANUAL R500Ni
INTELLIGENT AIS RECEIVER WITH WiFi
SKU: 001-1047
R500Ni-MA-v06r03
2019-11-06
ENGLISH

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3
CONTENTS
1 R500NI INTELLIGENT AIS RECEIVER WITH WIFI........................................... 4
2 DOCUMENT.......................................................................................................... 5
2.1 About This Manual........................................................................................................... 5
3 NOTICE................................................................................................................. 6
3.1 Copyright.......................................................................................................................... 6
4 GENERAL NOTICES ........................................................................................... 7
5 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 8
5.1 Parts List.......................................................................................................................... 8
6 MAJOR DIMENSIONS......................................................................................... 9
7 INSTALLATION.................................................................................................. 10
7.1 Mounting ........................................................................................................................ 10
7.2 Power Supply................................................................................................................. 10
7.3 Antenna Installation....................................................................................................... 10
8 CONFIGURATION.............................................................................................. 11
8.1 Installing Open Source Software................................................................................... 11
8.2 Requirements................................................................................................................. 11
8.3 Installing the Raspbian OS............................................................................................ 12
8.4 Enabling the Serial Port................................................................................................. 12
8.4.1 Setting and testing the serial port to receive AIS data................................... 14
8.5 Installing OpenCPN....................................................................................................... 15
8.5.1 Option 1: A complete installation including the Raspbian OS ....................... 15
8.5.2 Option 2: Installing OpenCPN after installing the Raspbian OS.................... 15
8.5.3 Configure the OpenCPN................................................................................. 16
8.5.4 Option 3: Installing OpenCPN with all available plugins................................ 17
9 FAULT FINDING................................................................................................. 17
9.1 Power LED not illuminating ........................................................................................... 17
9.2 Channel Indicators A & B do not flash .......................................................................... 17
10 SPECIFICATION .............................................................................................. 18
10.1 Physical........................................................................................................................ 18
10.2 Electrical and Electronic.............................................................................................. 18
10.3 Operational .................................................................................................................. 18
10.4 Environmental.............................................................................................................. 19
10.5 Additional Information.................................................................................................. 19
11 SAFETY AND SECURITY................................................................................ 20
12 LIMITED WARRANTY...................................................................................... 20
13 APPENDIX 1 –BACKGROUND TO AIS........................................................ 21

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1 R500NI INTELLIGENT AIS RECEIVER WITH WIFI

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2 DOCUMENT
2.1 About This Manual
This Manual provides installation, operating Instructions and fault-finding procedures for the
equipment to which it relates.
This manual may also be made available in electronic Portable Document Format (PDF). In PDF
format, the following categories are all enabled as active hyperlink references: (1) The titles of
each section; (2) document cross-references; (3) the table of contents.
This document may therefore be navigated quickly and effectively by using a mouse or other
pointing device to activate each of these hyperlinks. This is a printer friendly document, designed
to be printed 2-sided as a booklet with A5 pages on A4 stock paper.
Document name:
Date:
Details:
Author:
SLR350Ni-MA-v05r04
2017-12-19
First Released
JS, AA
R500Ni-MA-V6r01
2018-10-18
Product Name Change & Formatting
TSI
R500Ni-MA-V6r02
2019-04-24
Update to specifications & logo
TSI
R500Ni-MA-V6r03
2019-11-06
FCC Statements / Formatting
TSI

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3 NOTICE
3.1 Copyright
The copyright and all rights of a like nature in respect of this publication in any part of the world
are the property of COMAR SYSTEMS LTD. (COMAR).
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, nor stored in any information
retrieval system of any kind, nor used for tendering or manufacturing, nor communicated to any
other person without the written permission of COMAR.
The recipient of this document, as its registered holder, must exercise due diligence in ensuring
that the above conditions are observed (Errors and Omissions Excepted).
Any enquires relating to this document or its contents should be addressed, in writing, in the first
instance to COMAR SYSTEMS LTD.
COMAR SYSTEMS
Vittlefields Technology Centre
Forest Road
NEWPORT
Isle of Wight
PO30 4LY
UNITED KINGDOM
tel: [phone]
email:
[email protected]
web: www.
comarsystems.com
COMAR SYSTEMS reserves the right to make changes to its products and specifications without notice

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4 GENERAL NOTICES
SAFETY: Make sure the power supply is switched off before you make any electrical
connections to the unit.
INSTALLATION: This equipment must be installed in accordance with the instructions
provided in this manual. Failure to do so could result in poor performance, personal injury
and/or damage to your vessel and/or connected equipment.
CABLES: The supplied cables should only be cut, shortened or lengthened by an
appropriate supplier.
In accordance with a policy of continual development and product improvement, hardware and
software may be upgraded from time to time, and future versions of equipment may therefore not
correspond exactly with this manual.
When necessary, upgrades to the product will be accompanied by updates or addenda to this
manual. Information contained in this manual is liable to change without notice.
Comar Systems Ltd. disclaims any liability for consequences arising from omissions or
inaccuracies in this manual and any other documentation provided with this product.
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two
conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept
any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.




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5 INTRODUCTION
The R500Ni from Comar Systems is a compact, dual channel synthesized VHF AIS Receiver
equipped with Ethernet, WiFi and USB Interfaces for land-based, shore side monitoring. It is
designed to receive and decode all AIS transmissions from vessels fitted with Class ‘A’ or ‘B’ AIS
transceivers, Aids to Navigation, and SART.
The R500Ni is based on the popular Raspberry Pi™3
1
mini-computer and is optimised for coastal
monitoring of AIS equipped marine traffic. The R500Ni is primarily intended for developers to
implement within their own AIS monitoring networks. With compatible plotting software - for
example, OpenCPN
2
- AIS data can be received from vessels within range of the antenna and
displayed on a monitor in a visual representation.
Before operating the unit you should familiarise yourself with this user manual
The R500Ni is intended to be developed continually, therefore this manual should be considered
as a guide
5.1 Parts List
On delivery, carefully inspect the contents of the packing case. Note any damage or any missing
items. Ensure that the correct parts are included for your application.
1
For the latest information on Raspberry Pi™computers and operating systems please refer to
raspberrypi.org
2
OpenCPN: Open source Chart Plotter Navigation software. For the latest information on
OpenCPN software please refer to opencpn.org
Item:
Description:
No.
included:
COMAR
SKU Number:
1
R500Ni AIS Receiver - Unit
1
001-1047
2
Universal Power Supply
1
004-7128

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6 MAJOR DIMENSIONS
All dimensions mm:

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7 INSTALLATION
7.1 Mounting
Before starting installation select a suitable location. The R500Ni from COMAR SYSTEMS is
intended to be used indoors as part of a land-based installation. It should be installed in a cool,
dry place away from excessive vibration and shocks and can be mounted to a suitable bulkhead
or shelf.
7.2 Power Supply
Fit the universal power supply
3
with the correct adaptor for your local power. Connect the Antenna
& Ethernet cables first. Lastly, connect the power cable by plugging the micro-USB power jack
into the micro-USB socket on the side of the R500Ni, see section 6 MAJOR DIMENSIONS.
Provided that the unit is configured correctly, the receiver will immediately begin the boot process.
Refer to section 8 CONFIGURATION.
7.3 Antenna Installation
A VHF antenna for receiving AIS signals is not included in this package. The minimum
requirements of an antenna suitable for AIS are:
•Marine VHF band reception (for maximum performance, centred at 162 MHz)
•Having a gain of 3 dB or more
•Omnidirectional
Shore based reception is governed by local terrain, however an open view to the sea with an
antenna mounted in the clear, at a height of approximately 20 metres will achieve a reception
rangeof 25 nautical miles or more. Ahigher gain antenna can be used on shore to further increase
the coverage. COMAR SYSTEMS has a range of antennas available; we recommend the AV200
unit with ground plane for use with the R500Ni.
Mount the antenna with a relatively clear view of the horizon. Large obstructions that might shade
the antenna should be avoided.Try to maintain a short RF cable run, preferably 10 m or less for
the RG-58 cable type or 20 m for the RG-213 type.
Normally an omni-directional antenna is recommended; however a directional antenna such as a
3 element Yagi can be used to greatly increase performance in one particular direction.
In order to protect the antenna installation from the elements and avoid water ingress, please
apply waterproof sealant to both the RF connector and at the point where the sub-assemblies
connect to the main body.
3
In the unlikely event of power supply failure it is possible to use any micro-USB plug pack
capable of delivering 1.2 A of power, e.g. a phone or a tablet charger.
TIP: The higher the antenna is located, the greater the range.

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8 CONFIGURATION
This manual is intended to instruct in the installation of open source software on the Comar
R500Ni. Third party proprietary networked implementations of the R500Ni are outside the scope
of this manual. The micro computer embedded in the R500Ni is a Raspberry Pi 3™ unit.
8.1 Installing Open Source Software
The R500Ni is shipped without software and can be installed with any operatingsystem that works
on the Raspberry Pi 3™ micro computer. Full information and additional details can be found on
the Raspberry Foundation website: https://www.raspberrypi.org/
The R500Ni can run a number of operating systems and these are listed and explained on the
official Raspberry Foundation website. Comar Systems recommend using Raspbian, the official
operatingsystem (OS) for the Raspberry Pi, which is a Linux based OS. The followinginformation
is based on the assumption that you will be using Raspbian. It is an open source operating system
and can be freely downloadable from the internet.
The examples in this section are based on the Raspbian OS. This section describes examples of
how to download and install software to receive data from the R500Ni in two stages:
1. To be able to view the data as a NMEA feed
2. To install OpenCPN charting software to view the position of vessels in a charting
application
OpenCPN is an open source application. Refer to the OpenCPN website: opencpn.org
8.2 Requirements
You will need the following:
1. The Comar R500Ni and power supply
2. A MicroSD data storage card. Comar recommends a high quality branded card of at least 8
GB capacity
3. USB Mouse and keyboard or USB Bluetooth
4. A monitor with an HDMI
4
connection
5. A connection to the internet, either using Wi-Fi or ethernet via the RJ45 port. Comar always
recommends using a direct cable connection via the RJ45 port while installing the system
software
6. A VHF antenna to connect to the BNC connection of the R500Ni. Comar recommends the
AV200 antenna for receiving AIS data transmitted from marine traffic
7. A computer (PC or Mac) connected to the internet
4
High-Definition Multimedia Interface

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8.3 Installing the Raspbian OS
Raspbian is the official Operating System for the Raspberry Pi Foundation. You have two options
to install Raspbian on an SD card:
1. The New Out Of Box Software (NOOBS) option
2. Installing an SD image directly
We recommend the NOOBS option.
•To install the Raspbian OS, follow this easy guide for both options:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/learning/software-guide/quickstart/
There are two versions of the operating system:
1. A full operating system with graphical user interface and networking
2. A ‘lite’version with no graphical user interface and reduced functionality.
The instructions below are based on installing the full GUI version of Raspbian.
Once you have installed the operating system you will want to get access to the AIS data from
the inbuilt AIS receiver. The AIS data is a NMEA stream on the internal serial port and once set
up it can be viewed, stored or transferred to an application or other device.
To use the AISreceiver you have to enable the serialportand set the communicationparameters.
This applies to all uses of the R500Ni; see below.
8.4 Enabling the Serial Port
In the later Jessie
5
releases the GPIO serial port is disabled by default. In order to enable it, you
will need to edit config.txt using the terminal emulator on the toolbar, as follows:
Once you have Raspbian running on Raspberry Pi, go to Menu →Accessories →Terminal, and
type:
sudo nano /boot/config.txt
A text editor will open. Move the cursor to the end of the file and add this line:
enable_uart=1
This will also lock the cpu core frequency for you so there’s nothing else you need to do.
(The full command for locking the CPU core frequency is: core_freq=250 which you add to the
same file as well).
core_freq=250
Save the file by pressing Ctrl+X, say Yes and press enter. Reboot for the changes to take effect.
5
May 2016

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Now type:
sudo reboot
This will restart the system.
Once the R500Ni is back up and running, check the status of the serial port.
Go to Menu →Accessories →Terminal, and type:
$ ls –l /dev
•NOTE: Use lower case ‘L’ not ‘1’ or any other character
You should see the serial port ttyS0 with the alias of serial0 displayed part way down the list:
The next step is to disable the remote console which by default uses the internal serial port ttyS0
which is also the same serial port the AIS receiver uses in the R500Ni. To do this, type:
$ sudo systemctl stop serial-get[email protected]
$ sudo systemctl disable serial-gett[email protected]
You also need to remove the console from the cmdline.txt. You edit this with the following line:
$ sudo nano /boot/cmdline.txt
You will then see a response similar to this:
dwc_otg.lpm_enable=0 console=serial0,115200 console=tty1 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2
rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline fsck.repair=yes root wait
Remove the text:
console=serial0,115200
The code should now look something like this:
dwc_otg.lpm_enable=0 console=tty1 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline
fsck.repair=yes root wait
Save the file bypressing Ctrl+X, useoption Yes and press Enter. Reboot for changes to take effect.
$ sudo reboot
Finally you need to set the speed and enable the port ttyS0 for the AIS stream.

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8.4.1 Setting and testing the serial port to receive AIS data
First, set the serial port to the Baud rate of 38400:
$ stty –F /dev/ttyS0 38400
Make sure that the AIS antenna is connected. You should now be receiving AIS data on the
internal serial port. Check that the red LEDs on the side of the R500Ni are flashing; these indicate
data being received.
To check that the data sentences being received are formatted correctly you will need to examine
the data. This can be done either on the screen or by redirecting it to a file as follows:
$ cat /dev/ttyS0 > ./test.txt
This command line will put all the data received into a file named ./test.txt which can then be
viewed:
$ more ./test.txt
You will see something like this formatted AIS data:
If strange characters are displayed or data sentences are not formatted correctly then the Baud
rate settings may need checking for the serial port. In this case, repeat the procedure for setting
up the serial port.

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8.5 Installing OpenCPN
OpenCPN works on Raspberry Pi 3™ model which is embedded in the Comar R500Ni. There are
three options for installing OpenCPN:
8.5.1 Option 1: A complete installation including the Raspbian OS
If you feel lazy you can use OpenPlotter, a complete marine Operating System for Raspberry Pi
with the Raspbian OS, OpenCPN and plugins installed and extra tools ready to use. OpenPlotter
can be installed with ‘NOOBS’(New Out Of Box Software) by following this online guide:
https://sailoog.gitbooks.io/openplotter-documentation/content/en/getting_started.html
8.5.2 Option 2: Installing OpenCPN after installing the Raspbian OS
You can install OpenCPN by adding an Ubuntu PPA (Personal Packages Archives) to your
system's Software Sources. To do this, first install the Rapsbian OS as described previously and
enable the serial port, checking that AIS data is being received on the serial port, as described
previously. Then add OpenCPN in the next steps.
Once you have Raspbian running on Raspberry Pi, go to: Menu →Accessories →Terminal,
and type:
$ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
A text editor will open. Move the cursor to the end and add this line:
$ deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/opencpn/opencpn/ubuntu/ trusty main
Save the file pressing Ctrl+X, say Yes and press enter. Now type:
$ sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys C865EB40
and press enter. Now be sure you have an Internet connection and type:
$ sudo apt-get update
The Software sources will be updated and finally you will have to type:
$ sudo apt-get install opencpn
Confirm install with Yand hit enter.

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8.5.3 Configure the OpenCPN
Start OpenCPN from the GUI.
On the menu -> option -> connections
Add a connection ->Serial
Set Baud Rate 38400
Select Port /dev/ttyS0
Click the Apply button and the setup is complete.

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8.5.4 Option 3: Installing OpenCPN with all available plugins
Once you have Raspbian running on Raspberry Pi, go to Menu →Accessories →Terminal, and
type:
$ sudo apt-get install opencpn*
If you get an error doing this, you will have to install the plugins individually by typing:
$ sudo apt-get install opencpn-plugin-watchdog
$ sudo apt-get install opencpn-plugin-statusbar
If a new version of OpenCPN is released, just type:
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install opencpn
You should now be up and running with the R500Ni displaying NMEA data either from the serial
port or on a visual chart plot.
9 FAULT FINDING
9.1 Power LED not illuminating
Check the power supply and that the unit is connected to a 5 V dc power source capable of
providing an operating current of 1.2 A minimum
Check that the micro-USB cable is correctly connected and that the cable and socket are not
damaged.
9.2 Channel Indicators A & B do not flash
Check that the VHF antenna is correctly connected
Check that the antenna is correctly positioned, i.e. at a direct line of sight to nearby vessels
Check that the antenna body and cable connectors are free of corrosion and moisture

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10 SPECIFICATION
10.1 Physical
Weight:
600 g
Dimensions:
L 130 x W 105 x H 46 mm
Mounting:
2 holes in chassis back
Connections:
Power: Micro USB
Antenna: BNC Connector (50Ωantenna impedance)
Ethernet: RJ45
USB: Type ‘B’ x4
Finish:
Black plastic
10.2 Electrical and Electronic
Power supply:
5 V dc nominal
Operating Current:
900 mA (minimum) to 1200 mA (typical)
Onboard micro computer:
Raspberry Pi 3™ (see footnote)6
10.3 Operational
Output Format:
ITU / NMEA 0183
Output Message:
VDM
AIS Receiver Frequency
Range:
Channel A 161.975 MHz
Channel B 162.025 MHz
Channel Spacing:
25 KHz
Sensitivity:
> -112dBm @ 20% MER
Demodulation:
GMSK
3x LED Indicators:
Green: Power
Red: Channel A Receiving
Red: Channel B Receiving
WiFi Band:
2.4 GHz (802.11n)
WiFi Security:
WPA, WPA-PSK, WPA2 & WPS
Network:
Must be DHCP enabled
6
For the latest information and specifications on Raspberry Pi™micro computers and operating
systems please refer to raspberrypi.org

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10.4 Environmental
Operating Temperature:
-15°C to +55°C
Operating Humidity:
Up to 93%
Storage Temperature:
-20°C to +70°C
Ingress Protection:
IP20
10.5 Additional Information
If spare parts are required then please contact either your supplier or COMAR SYSTEMS.
COMAR SYSTEMS reserves the right to makes changes to its products and specifications without
notice.

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11 SAFETY AND SECURITY
Please observe the following procedures to ensure safety of personnel installing and operating
the equipment:
1. Ensure all power to the unit is disconnected and locked-out during installation, maintenance
and removal procedures
2. Ensure power is disconnected and locked-out in the event of mechanical damage to the
unit, rendering internal parts accessible to personnel
3. Only the electrical power of the specified voltage should be connected to the unit
4. The panel to which the unit is mounted should be designed to provide adequate mechanical
support. This minimises the possibility of damage or injury caused under mechanical shock
conditions
5. Care should be taken to ensure the fixings used to mount the unit to the panel are correctly
fitted and retain their mechanical integrity over time
12 LIMITED WARRANTY
COMAR SYSTEMS LTD. warrants this product to be free from defects in materials and
manufacture for one year from the date of purchase. Comar Systems Ltd will, at its sole option,
repair or replace any components that fail in normal use. Such repairs or replacement will be
made at no charge to the customer for parts and labour. The customer is, however, responsible
for any transportation costs incurred in returning the unit to Comar Systems Ltd.
This warranty does not cover failures due to abuse, misuse, accident or unauthorised alteration
or repairs.
Changes or modifications not made by Comar Systems or an authorised repairer will: (1) Void the
warranty issued by Comar Systems (2) Void the user's authority to operate the equipment.
The above does not affect the statutory rights of the consumer.
Note: Every effort has been made to ensure that all information contained in this manual
is accurate at the time of going to press. We therefore cannot take any responsibility for
the content and advise that you take normal steps to ensure that the information is at its
most current when you are reading this manual.